She may not have nabbed tens of thousands in a scholarship and a technology grant for her school, but Chestnut Ridge Middle School seventh-grader Marie Iaonne had a blast.

Maria was a finalist in Google’s Doodle 4 Google contest, vying for the grand prize and a chance for her doodle — which depicts a starry night sky, crescent moon anchoring Google’s G and a small sihloutte investigating the breathtaking scene with a telescope — to make it on the Google homepage for billions to see. The astronomy lover took the top prize in the entire state of New Jersey — announced in a big assembly at her school— sending her and her family on a two-night stay in New York City for the unveiling of the national winner.

The top prize went to a high school senior from Wisconsin for her depiction of the day her father returned from serving in the military overseas — the doodle had to fit in the theme of “my best day ever.”

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Iannone was announced as one of the top finalists, having won her age group as well. That means Iannone came home to Washington Township with a framed copy of her doodle and her awards, as well as a $5,000 college scholarship.

Her doodle, along with the 50 other state winners, will remain on display at the American Museum of Natural History until June 14.

“She’s very excited. She was excited just to be there and excited to win her age group,” said Maria’s mother Nancy Iaonne, who brought their whole family on the trip to New York.

There, they got a tour of the unique Google offices in New York City, and Iannone got the chance to work with the guest judges and other winners on a variety of creative thinking activities.

“I liked seeing the other winners,” said Maria, who said she knew the overall winning doodle was going to nab the top spot as soon as she saw it during the online voting period.

“I knew it was going to win immediately,” the student with a passion for digital drawing said. “It was one of my favorites.”

Maria spent nearly six hours toiling away on her doodle, drawing it entirely on a computer tablet with special software. She had fun in New York and was happy to win, but she’s not sure she’d be up to it again next year.

“I dont know,” she said. “It is a lot of work.”

While Maria may not doodle for Google again, with her skill and passion — her parents said she regularly spends hours and hours daily on her art — it’s likely she'll still be doodling.